"More than just storage for pots and plates, cabinetry defines the look of your cook space. The experts at This Old House help you pick the right style for your budget and your needs

Photo: courtesy of Signature Custom Cabinetry

Cabinetry Rules of ThumbWhile cabinets can be configured in myriad ways, they're typically built and installed using well-established dimensions. Follow these guidelines during the planning stages to imagine how your kitchen will look and function.

Buying Guide: Semi-customGood for: More discriminating tastes and deeper pockets. Get any style, configuration, or finish, as long as it's in the manufacturer's catalog.Sizes: Widths for uppers and lowers usually change in 1-inch increments. Heights vary in 6-inch increments on uppers; lowers are fixed. Materials, hardware: Carcasses are typically ½-inch MDF but can often be upgraded to plywood. Doors can be solid wood or MDF with thermofoil or wood veneer. Full-extension drawer glides are side-mounted.Buy them from: Home centers or kitchen showrooms. Allow five to six weeks for delivery. Cost: Starts at about $90 per linear foot.Shown: Andover door in white-stained maple

Buying Guide: CustomGood for: Kitchens where a precise fit, more configuration options, and fine detailing matter more than the price tag. Sizes: Built to any width or height you want and with any finish, hardware, or wood species that catches your fancy.Materials, hardware: Typically ¾-inch furniture-grade plywood for the carcasses; door and drawer fronts are usually solid wood. Full-extension glides can be undermounted and have a soft-close feature.Buy them from: Kitchen showrooms or local cabinetmakers. Allow eight to 10 weeks for domestic cabinet delivery, 14 to 16 weeks for imports, and eight weeks to six months for a cabinetmaker.Cost: Starts at about $150 per linear foot.Shown: BeauxArts door in lacquered plywood in Flannel Grey

Door Style: Flat PanelStiles and rails frame a recessed center panel. This type works well with Shaker- and Craftsman-style kitchens.Shown: Stock Adel door in beech veneer over MDF, about $85 including 12-by-30-inch cabinet

Photo: Don Penny/Time Inc. Digital Studio

Door Style: SlabMade from a single piece of MDF or plywood, this door type can be painted, or covered with a plastic or wood veneer. The look is streamlined and cleaning is a breeze.Shown: Semi-custom Vista door in cherry veneer over plywood (Brookhaven II collection), about $225 including 15-by-30-inch cabinet

Photo: Don Penny/Time Inc. Digital Studio

Door Style: Beadboard PanelA stile-and-rail frame surrounds a center beadboard panel. Less formal than raised or flat panel, it has a cottage look.Shown: Semi-custom Polarcrest door in white thermofoil over MDF, about $150 including 12-by-24-inch cabinet

Photo: Don Penny/Time Inc. Digital Studio

Door Style: Glass FrontPanes of glass take the place of solid panels. Divided lights with wavy or clear glass (shown) have a traditional look; frosted glass minus any grillwork gives a more modern spin.

Door (and drawer) Mounting Options1. Partial Inset. Doors have a rabbet, or notch, cut into the outside edge so that only a thin lip overlies the face frame. Often fitted with knife hinges (shown), but can also use cup or surface hinges. Unnotched doors that cover a portion of the face frame are called partial overlay.

2. Full Overlay. Doors completely cover the front of the cabinet, no face frame required. Uses cup hinges, which are hidden when a door is shut.

3. Inset. Doors fit perfectly flush with the face frame. Typically used with butt hinges (shown), but also works with cup, knife, and surface hinges.

Illustration: Rodica Prato

Photo: courtesy of Merillat

Design: VictorianIn the late 1800s, a wall-hung cupboard, such as this one with supporting brackets and a cornice on top, would have been paired with furniture-like worktables.

Similar to shown: Semi-custom Classic Portrait in painted maple

Design: ColonialAn understated simplicity belies the fine workmanship and classic proportions of this style. Paint offers the best protection and is easy to maintain.

Shown: Custom Shaker in painted white pine

Photo: courtesy of The Kennebec Company

Photo: courtesy of Crown Point Cabinetry

Design: Arts and CraftsPopular in the early 20th century, this style dispensed with curvy Victorian-era millwork profiles in favor of rectilinear angles. Typically crafted of fine wood.

Shown: Custom Arts & Crafts Designer Series in quartersawn white oak

Design: ModernFull-overlay slab-type doors create a simple, uniform facade that is the very essence of contemporary cabinet design.